Vehicle door having anti-theft cover member

ABSTRACT

A vehicle door comprises an outer door panel, an inner door panel formed with an aperture, a plastic mounting panel to which functional devices of the vehicle door are installed. The plastic mounting panel is installed to the inner door panel to close up the aperture. A door lock/unlock mechanism is attached to the inner door panel and a linking member is connected to the lock/unlock mechanism through which the lock/unlock mechanism is operated to lock and unlock the vehicle door. The linking member extends along an inner side of the plastic mounting panel, passes through a guide hole formed in the plastic mounting panel and extends along an exterior side of the plastic mounting panel. A cover member covers the lock/unlock mechanism and the part of the linking member on the exterior side of the plastic mounting panel to prevent unauthorized access.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENT

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vehicle door comprising an outer doorpanel, an inner door panel formed with an aperture and a plasticmounting panel to which functional devices of the vehicle door and doorparts are mounted and which is installed to the inner door panel tocover up the aperture of the inner door panel with an intention toprovide a lightweight vehicle door which needs a decreased number ofparts and is easy to assemble, and a process of assembling the vehicledoor.

2. Description of the Related Art

Typically, vehicle doors are made up of a door panel assembly comprisinga steel inner door panel and a steel outer door panel to which variousfunctional parts and devices of the door, such as a window regulator anda door lock/unlock mechanism, are directly installed, In such as avehicle door, because it is necessary to install various functionaldevices and associated parts in a space formed between the outer andinner door panels, the vehicle door is hard to be light in weight inaddition to poor suitability of the plastic mounting panel forassembling work and a necessity of a large number of parts.

In an attempt to solve the aforementioned drawbacks, there has beenproposed a vehicle door which comprises an outer door panel made of asteel sheet, an inner door panel made up of a metal main panel and aplastic auxiliary panel formed as one piece. The outer door panel has anouter door wall formed as a part integral with an inner frame defining alarge aperture in which the inner door panel is fitted. Variousfunctional devices and associated parts of the door are assembled to theinner door panel before fitting the inner door panel to the outer doorpanel. One of such vehicle doors is known from, for example, JapaneseUnexamined Patent Publication No.9-156374.

In the case where the plastic auxiliary panel is separately prepared,the inner door panel can be unrestrictedly provided with variousintricate shapes. As a result, since various fitting members such asclips are unnecessary to assemble the functional parts and devices ofthe door and, in addition, the functional parts and devices of the doorare allowed to be disposed at various locations, a significant effect isproduced in terms of increasing the degree of freedom for laying outinternal constituent parts in the inside of the vehicle door. On theother hand, since a door lock/unlock operating member such as a cablelinking a door lock/unlock mechanism is usually disposed in the space ofthe vehicle door formed between the outer door panel and the inner doorpanels, the vehicle door is possibly unlocked by dishonestly orintentionally operating the door lock/unlock operating member through agap in the window, more specifically, between an upper edge of the outerdoor panel and a window glass. This places the vehicle under unreliableprevention from robberies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicledoor which has improved antitheft door structure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle doorin which a linking member linking a door handle with a door lock/unlockmechanism is arranged such as to pass through a linking member guidehole of a plastic mounting panel from near an aperture of an inner doorpanel and then extend along the plastic mounting panel on a near side tothe passenger compartment.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle doorhaving reliable antitheft door structure in which a cover member coversa door lock/unlock mechanism and a linking member linking a door handlewith the door lock/unlock mechanism which extends along a plasticmounting panel partly on a far side from a passenger compartment.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle doorhaving a plastic mounting panel with a cover secured thereto forcovering a door lock/unlock mechanism and a linking member linking adoor handle with the door lock/unlock mechanism which extends along aplastic mounting panel partly on a far side from a passenger compartmentwhich provides suitability of the cover for assembling work.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a vehicledoor having a plastic mounting panel with a cover formed as a partintegral therewith which reduces the number of parts of the vehicle doorand provides improved suitability of the vehicle door for assemblingwork.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process ofassembling a vehicle door comprising an outer door panel disposed on afar side from a passenger compartment of a vehicle, an inner door panelformed with an aperture and disposed on a near side to the passengercompartment and a plastic mounting panel, which includes a step ofmounting a door lock/unlock mechanism and a linking member through whichthe door lock/unlock mechanism is operated to lock and unlock thevehicle door to the plastic mounting panel and then covering them by acover member and a step of installing the plastic mounting panel to theinner door panel so as to close up the aperture of the inner door panel.

The aforesaid objects of the present invention are achieved by a vehicledoor comprising an outer door panel disposed on a far side from apassenger compartment of a vehicle, an inner door panel formed with anaperture and disposed on a near side to the passenger compartment, and aplastic mounting panel to which functional devices of the vehicle doorand door parts are mounted and which is installed to the inner doorpanel to cover up the aperture of the inner door panel, which comprisesa door lock/unlock mechanism mounted to the plastic mounting panel onthe far side from the passenger compartment and a linking memberconnected to the door lock/unlock mechanism through which the doorlock/unlock mechanism is operated to lock and unlock the vehicle door,the linking member passing through a linking member guide hole formed inthe plastic mounting panel from near the aperture of the inner doorpanel and extending along the plastic mounting panel partly on the farside from the passenger compartment and partly on the near side to thepassenger compartment. The vehicle door thus comprised has the linkingmember disposed outside a space between the inner door panel and theouter door panel, so as to provide the vehicle with an improvedantitheft effect.

The vehicle door is preferably provided with a cover member which coversthe door lock/unlock mechanism and a part of the linking memberextending along the plastic mounting panel on the far side from thepassenger compartment. The cover member reliably prevents the doorlock/unlock mechanism and/or the linking member from an access from theoutside of the vehicle with a foul intention to run away with thevehicle.

The cover member is fixedly secured to the plastic mounting panelpreviously mounting the door lock/unlock mechanism and/or the linkingmember to the plastic mounting panel P. Otherwise, the cover member maybe formed in position as a part integral with the plastic mountingpanel. The vehicle door may further comprise an anchor member operativeto anchor the linking member which is formed as a part integral with theplastic mounting panel. Further, the vehicle door may comprise a bracketmember operative to hold a door handle connected to the linking memberwhich is formed as a part integral with the plastic mounting panel. Thisintegral structure enables to install the plastic mounting panel withthe door lock/unlock mechanism and the linking member to the plasticmounting panel P mounted thereto and the cover member to the inner doorpanel all at once with an effect of simplifying assembling work and isof great advantage to decreasing the number of door parts to beassembled.

The vehicle door which comprises an outer door panel disposed on a farside from a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an inner door panelformed with an aperture and disposed on a near side to the passengercompartment, and a plastic mounting panel to which functional devices ofthe vehicle door and door parts are mounted and which is installed tothe inner door panel to close up the aperture of the inner door panel isassembled by a process comprising the steps of attaching a doorlock/unlock mechanism, a linking member through and a cover member tothe plastic mounting panel such that the cover member covers the doorlock/unlock mechanism and the linking member from a far side from apassenger compartment of the vehicle and installing the plastic mountingpanel with the door lock/unlock mechanism and the linking member coveredby the cover member to the inner door panel.

According to the process of assembling the vehicle door, the doorlock/unlock mechanism, the linking member and the cover member arepreviously attached in position to the plastic mounting panel as asub-assembly and thereafter the sub-assembly is installed to the innerdoor panel. This process improves suitability of the vehicle door forassembling work.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the present invention willbe clearly understood from the following description with respect to thepreferred embodiments thereof when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a vehicle door in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a plastic panel as viewed from a passengercompartment;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the plastic panel as viewed from the outside ofthe passenger compartment;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal-sectional view of a central part of a completedvehicle door;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a window glass regulator rail of a windowregulator;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal-sectional view of a rear lower part of the doorpanel;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a crash pad;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of another crash pad;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of still another crash pad;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a structure for installing an interiordoor handle to the plastic mounting panel;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a linkage structure between aninterior door handle and handle linking cable;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a door latch unit cover;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a structure surrounding the doorlatch unit;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of another structure surrounding thedoor latch unit;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a reinforcement plate;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing a steps of installing the plasticmounting panel to the inner door panel;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of window glass guide;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a speaker mounting structure;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a harness fitting structure;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a cable fitting structure;

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the plastic panel with a cover foran exterior door handle access opening left joined;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the plastic panel with a cover fora window glass access opening left joined;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the cover fitted in the exteriordoor handle access opening; and

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of the cover fitted in the windowglass access opening.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Although the following description is directed to a front door of avehicle by way of example, the present invention is applicable to a reardoor and a back door with the same effects.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and, in particular, to FIGS. 1 to 3showing a front door of a vehicle (which will be referred to as avehicle door for simplicity) in accordance with a preferred embodimentof the present invention, the vehicle door is made up of a door panelsub-assembly D comprising a steel inner door panel D1 disposed on a sidenear to a passenger compartment of the vehicle, a steel outer door panelD2 disposed on a side far from the passenger compartment, a steel windowsash D3, a plastic mounting panel P, and a trim unit T which forms aside wall of a passenger compartment. The window sash D3, which isshaped such as to have a front part inclined rearward as viewed from thefront of the vehicle, receives a window glass W therein. The door panelsub-assembly D at its front end is provided upper and lower hinges 1 and2. The inner door panel D1 has a generally rectangular aperture 3 formedbelow a belt line and has a front ton corner D1 a uncut. An uppermounting panel portion D1 b above the belt line and integral with theuncut part D1 a provides the inner door panel D1 with structuralrigidity at least necessary for an inner panel. The inner door panel D1is formed with a plurality of holes 4 arranged around the aperture 3 forfastening clips and set screws (not shown) for attaching the plasticmounting panel P and the trim unit T to the door panel sub-assembly D.

The door panel sub-assembly D is equipped with an impact bar 6 extendingin a lengthwise direction of the vehicle between the inner door panel D1and the outer door panel D2 in order to provide the door panelsub-assembly D with increased rigidity against side impact thereon. Theouter door panel D2 is provided with an exterior door handle 7 at itsrear top corner thereof. The plastic mounting panel P has an overallshape in almost conformity to the aperture 3 of the inner door panel D1.The plastic mounting panel P is formed with a plurality of holes 11arranged along the peripheral margin so as to correspond in position tothe holes 4 of the inner door panel D1. Further, the plastic mountingpanel P at its center portion is formed with an opening 12 for an accessto the inside of the door panel sub-assembly D for installing the windowglass W to a window regulator R. The plastic mounting panel P at itsrear top corner is formed with an opening 13 for an access to the insideof the door panel sub-assembly D for connecting a wire cable and itsassociated parts to the exterior door handle 7. The plastic mountingpanel P is further formed with a speaker mount 14, a pocket 15 and aside crash pad 16 operative to absorb energy of an impact, all of whichare arranged in the lengthwise direction at a lower portion of theplastic plate P and project toward the passenger compartment, and abracket 17 positioned at a center thereof. The trim unit T is fixed tothe plastic mounting panel P, and hence the door panel sub-assembly D,through the bracket 17.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3 showing an appearance of the plasticmounting panel P is viewed from the outside of the passengercompartment, the plastic mounting panel P is formed and provided withvarious constituent parts including at least a window glass guide rail18, a sealing member 19, and access opening covers 22 and 23.Specifically, the window glass guide rail 18 is attached to a frontportion of the plastic mounting panel P so as to guide up and downmovement of the window glass W. The sealing member 19, which is made of,for example, waterproof rubber strip, is attached to the plasticmounting panel P so as to extend along the periphery except an upperside of the plastic mounting panel P. The access opening cover 22 isformed as an appendant part to the plastic mounting panel P at a frontupper cutaway corner so as to be easily separated from the plasticmounting panel P by breaking away joints 20 after it has been attachedto the plastic mounting panel P to cover up the access opening 13.Similarly, the access opening cover 23 is formed as an appendant part tothe plastic mounting panel P at the front upper cutaway corner so as tobe easily separated from the plastic mounting panel P by breaking awayjoints 21 after it has been attached to the plastic mounting panel P tocover up the access opening 12. The access opening cover 22 is formedwith a shock absorbing lattice structure comprising ribs 22 a andinstalled to the plastic mounting panel P such that, when the plasticmounting panel P is installed to the door panel sub-assembly D, theaccess opening cover 22 absorbs impact from the exterior door handle 7.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the plastic mounting panel P is additionallyprovided with various functional parts and devices including at least aninterior door handle 30, a handle linking cables 31, a motor R1 of thewindow regulator R and a front speaker 32 which are at the inner side ofthe plastic mounting panel P as viewed from the passenger compartment,and a guide rail R2, a drum pulley R3 and a cable R4 forming parts ofthe window regulator R and a door lock/unlock mechanism provided in aform of door latch unit 33 (schematically depicted in FIG. 2) which areat the outer side of the plastic mounting panel P as viewed from thepassenger compartment. These functional parts and devices are attachedto the plastic mounting panel P before the plastic mounting panel P isinstalled to the door panel sub-assembly D. Specifically, the interiordoor handle 30 is installed to an upper portion of the inner side of theplastic mounting panel P as viewed from the passenger compartment. Thehandle cable 31 extends from the interior door handle 30 and the doorlatch unit 33. The motor R1 is installed to the center portion of theplastic mounting panel P. The front speaker 32, which forms a part of anaudio system, is mounted to the speaker mount 14. The guide rail R2, thedrum pulley R3 and the cable R4 are mounted to the center portion of theplastic mounting panel P. The door latch unit 33, which is engaged by abody striker (not shown), is mounted to a rear portion of the plasticmounting panel P. The plastic mounting panel P is additionally providedwith harnesses H for supplying electric power to various electricconstituent parts. The harnesses extend passing through a center hole34, front half portions thereof extending on the outer side of theplastic mounting panel P as depicted by a solid line in FIG. 3 and rearhalf portions thereof extending on the inner side of the plasticmounting panel P as depicted by solid line in FIG. 2.

As seen in FIG. 1, the trim unit T is installed to the door panelsub-assembly D after the plastic mounting panel P is installed so as toform a side wall of the passenger compartment. The trim unit T is formedand provided with various parts and devices including a switch unit 40having a plurality of switches for actuating at least a power-drivenwindow regulator and a power-driven door latch mechanism, an assist grip41 and an arm rest 42 extending behind the switch unit 40. In addition,a speaker cover 43 and a pocket wall 44 are formed as appendant parts tothe trim unit T. The speaker cover 43 is fitted on the speaker mount 14so as to cover the front speaker 32. The pocket wall 44 closes one sideof the pocket 15 facing the passenger compartment.

The window glass W is installed to the door panel sub-assembly D afterthe plastic mounting panel P is installed. Specifically, the windowglass W is inserted into the door panel sub-assembly D, i.e., betweenthe inner door panel D1 and the outer door panel D2, from the side ofthe window sash D3, and then, installed to the window regulator R on theplastic mounting panel P.

Details of the respective parts and devices of the vehicle door will bedescribed below in conjunction with FIGS. 4 through 24.

FIG. 4 shows a completed vehicle door in longitudinal-section along avertical center line thereof. In an interior space of the door panelsub-assembly D formed between the inner door panel D1 and the outer doorpanel D2 there is disposed the guide rail R2 of the window regulator Rinstalled to the plastic mounting panel P such as to extend in adirection of height of the vehicle. The window glass W is located on theouter side of the guide rail R2 so as to be guided by the guide rail R2.The impact bar 6 is disposed on the outer side of the window glass Wsuch as to extend in the lengthwise direction. In order to provide thepassenger compartment with reliable watertightness, the waterproofsealing strips 19 are firmly caught between the plastic mounting panel Pand the inner door panel D1, specifically the upper mounting panelportion D1 b and a lower mounting panel portion D1 c below the aperture3 of the inner door panel D1, respectively, so as to block the aperture3. The guide rail R2 is supported from the outer side thereof by afixing rib 45, a fixing boss 46 and an engaging boss 47 fixedly attachedto or formed as a part integral with the plastic mounting panel P and isinstalled to the plastic mounting panel P through a fixing bolt 50 at anupper extreme end and a L-shaped tongue 51 at a lower extreme endthereof. The trim unit T is inserted at its upper end Ta between theupper mounting panel portion D1 b of the inner door panel D1 and thewindow glass W and is fixed at its lower end Tb to the lower mountingpanel portion Die of the inner door panel D1 so as thereby to beinstalled to the door panel sub-assembly D and to cover the plasticmounting panel P. The pocket wall 44 is formed as a part integral withthe trim unit T and forms an inner side wall of the pocket 15 when thetrim unit T is installed to the door panel sub-assembly D so as therebyto complete a box-shaped pocket 53 for small articles.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the installing process of installing the guiderail R2 of the window regulator R to the plastic mounting panel P, aftertemporarily keeping the guide rail R2 in position relative to theplastic mounting panel P first by inserting the L-shaped tongue 51 ofthe guide rail R2 into a slot 47 a of the engagement boss 47,positioning and engaging pins 46 a extending from the fixing bosses 46are engaged within holes R2 a formed in the guide rail R2, respectively.Finally, the fixing bolt 50 is passed through one of the holes R2 b andfastened into one of the fixing bosses 46 so as thereby to firmly fixthe guide rail R2 to the plastic mounting panel P. In this manner, theassembling work of the guide rail R2 is made easy.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a rear lower part of the completed vehicle door inlongitudinal-section. As shown, the inner side crash pad 16, which isformed as a part integral with the plastic mounting panel P forabsorbing energy of a lateral impact against the plastic mounting panelP, projects in a direction from the exterior to the interior of thevehicle such that it extends at least toward the window glass W from themain section of the plastic mounting panel P on the side of the outerdoor panel D2 and toward the trim unit T on the side of the passengercompartment. The inner side crash pad 16 has an impact absorbing latticestructure comprising a plurality of lengthwise and breadthwise ribs 60arranged so as to form cells open at their outer ends. The inner sidecrash pad 16 is formed in a position corresponding to the waist of apassenger sitting on a seat (not shown). This inner side crash pad 16cooperates with an outer side crash pad 61 attached to the outer doorpanel D2 so as to receive energy of a lateral impact from the outer doorpanel D2 through the outer side crash pad 61 upon an occurrence of aside crash. When the side crash pad 16 receives energy of a lateralimpact due to a side crash, it transmits a lateral deformation of thevehicle door to the waist of the passenger, so as thereby to force thewaist of the passenger away from the vehicle door. This protects thepassenger from receiving a blow from the vehicle door.

As shown in FIG. 8, the plastic mounting panel P may be additionallyprovided with a fragile structure 9 comprising grooves 8 formed along aroot of the inner side crash pad 16. When the inner side crash pad 16receives energy of an impact from the outer side crash pad 61 upon anoccurrence of a side crash, the fragile structure 9 breaks off along thegrooves 8, so that the inner side crash pad 16 moves quickly into thepassenger compartment, forcing the waist of the passenger away from thedoor panel in an early stage of the side crash. Therefore, the innerside pad 16 provided with the fragile structure 9 provides the vehiclewith an improved protection performance for the passenger.

FIG. 9 shows a variant of the side crash panel P which is provided witha separate side crash pad 16. As shown in FIG. 9, the side crash pad 16is prepared separately from the plastic mounting panel P and secured tothe plastic mounting panel P. Specifically, the plastic mounting panel Pis formed with an aperture and the side crash pad 16 has a peripheralflange 16 a. The side crash pad 16 is inserted and fitted in theaperture of the plastic mounting panel P by securing the peripheralflange 16 a to the plastic mounting panel P by fasteners 10.

FIG. 10 is the interior door handle 30 which is exploded for the purposeof explaining a step of installing the interior door handle 30 to theplastic mounting panel P. As shown, the interior door handle 30 isdirectly secured to a base block 62 formed as a part integral with theplastic mounting panel P without employing separately provided parts.The interior door handle 30 comprises a door lock knob 30 a and a doorrelease or unlock knob 30 b. These knobs 30 a and 30 b are put betweenupper and lower brackets 63 and 64 extending from the base block 62 ofthe plastic mounting panel P as depicted by a double-dotted line so asto turn about a vertical axis in opposite directions. The door lock knob30 a has a coupling arm 65 as a part integral therewith and formed witha coupling hole 65 a in which a bent end 31 c of a cable rod 31 a of thehandle linking cable 31 is fitted. Similarly, the door unlock knob 30 bhas a coupling arm 66 as a part integral therewith and formed with acoupling hole 66 a in which a bent end 31 d of a cable rod 31 b of thehandle linking cable 31 is fitted. The base block 62 is formed with anintermediate partition 67 extending in parallel to and between the upperand lower brackets 63 and 64.

As depicted in detail in FIG. 11, the handle linking cable 31 is coupledto the interior door handle 30 installed to the base block 62 of theplastic mounting panel P. The handle linking cable 31 comprises thecable rods 31 a and 31 b and cable rod guide and protection sheaths 31Aand 31B. The cable rod 31 a at its extreme end 31 c is bent atapproximately a right angle and fitted in the coupling hole 65 a of thecoupling arm 65. The cable rod 31 b at its extreme end 31 d is bent atapproximately a right angle and fitted in the coupling hole 66 ab of thecoupling arm 66. In the step of coupling the handle linking cable 31 tothe interior door handle 31, namely the door lock knob 30 a and the doorunlock knob 30 b, the extreme bent ends 31 c and 31 d of the respectivecable rods 31 a and 31 b are fitted in the coupling holes 65 a and 66 aof the coupling arms 65 and 66, respectively, first. Then, the interiordoor handle is put and pivotally mounted between the upper bracket 63and the lower bracket 64 so as to locate the coupling arm 65 of the doorlock knob 30 a between the upper bracket 63 and the intermediatepartition 67 and the coupling arm 66 of the door unlock knob 30 bbetween the intermediate partition 67 and the lower bracket 64. Thehandle linking cable coupling structure makes the upper bracket 63function as a stopper for preventing the cable rod 31 a from slippingoff from the coupling arm 65 of the door lock knob 30 a. Similarly, thehandle linking cable coupling structure makes the intermediate partition67 function as a stopper for preventing the cable rod 31 b from slippingoff from the coupling arm 66 of the coupling arm 66 of the door unlockknob 30 b. The cable rod guide awl protection sheaths 31A and 31B arefixedly supported by a bracket 67 of the plastic mounting panel P.

As depicted in detail in FIG. 11, the handle linking cable 31 is coupledto the interior door handle 30 installed to the base block 62 of theplastic mounting panel P. The handle linking cable 31 comprises thecable rods 31 a and 31 b and cable rod guide and protection sheaths 31Aand 31B. The cable rod 31 a at its extreme end 31 c is bent atapproximately a right angle and fitted in the coupling hole 65 a of thecoupling arm 65. The cable rod 31 b at its extreme end 31 d is bent atapproximately a right angle and fitted in the coupling hole 66 ab of thecoupling arm 66. In the step of coupling the handle linking cable 31 tothe interior door handle 31, namely the door lock knob 30 a and the doorunlock knob 30 b, the extreme bent ends 31 c and 31 d of the respectivecable rods 31 a and 31 b are fitted in the coupling holes 65 a and 66 aof the coupling arms 65 and 66, respectively, first. Then, the interiordoor handle is put and pivotally mounted between the upper bracket 63and the lower bracket 64 so as to locate the coupling arm 65 of the doorlock knob 30 a between the upper bracket 63 and the intermediatepartition 67 and the coupling arm 66 of the door unlock knob 30 bbetween the intermediate partition 67 and the lower bracket 64. Thehandle linking cable coupling structure makes the upper bracket 63function as a stopper for preventing the cable rod 31 a from slippingoff from the coupling arm 65 of the door lock knob 30 a. Similarly, thehandle linking cable coupling structure makes the intermediate partition67 function as a stopper for preventing the cable rod 31 b from slippingoff from the coupling arm 66 of the coupling arm 66 of the door unlockknob 30 b. The cable rod guide awl protection sheaths 31A and 31B arefixedly supported by a bracket 67 of the plastic mounting panel P.

As described above, the handle linking cable coupling structure thuscoupling the cable rod 31 to the interior door handle 30 providesreliable power transmission from the door lock knob 30 a and the doorunlock knob 30 b to the door latch unit 33 for locking and unlocking thevehicle door, respectively.

FIG. 12 shows a door latch unit cover 70 by which the door latch unit 33is covered and protected. The door latch unit cover 70, which is made ofa plastic as one piece and has an outer shape in approximatelyconformity with an outer shape of the door latch unit 33, is fixed tothe plastic mounting panel P through fixing brackets 71 and 72 formed asparts integral with the plastic mounting panel P. The door latch unitcover 70 comprises four sections made up as one piece. Specifically, acover section 73 is located at one of opposite sides of the door latchunit cover 70 to cover a cable rod of a handle linking cable 80 linkingthe exterior door handle 7 and a cable rod of a cylinder linking cable81 linking a key cylinder 112. A cover section 74 is located at anotherside of the door latch unit cover 70 to cover a cable rod 31 a of thehandle linking cable 31 linking the door lock knob 30 a. A cover section75 is located above the cover section 74 to cover a cable rod 31 b ofthe handle linking cable 31 linking the door unlock knob 30 b. A coversection 76 is located at lower end of the door latch unit cover 70 tocover a motor (not shown) of the power-driven door latch unit 33.

FIG. 13 shows the door latch unit 33 and its associated pans covered bythe door latch unit cover 70 in cross-section. The door latch unit 33 issecured by fasteners 82 to a mounting extension 100 fanned as anintegral part of the plastic mounting panel P from the outer side onwhich the window glass W and the outer door panel D2 are located. Theextension 100 of the plastic mounting panel P extends between the innerdoor panel D1 and door latch unit cover 70 behind the guide hole 83formed in the plastic mounting panel P. The door latch unit cover 70protects the door latch unit 33 from an access from the outside of thevehicle with an intention to run away with the vehicle. The handlelinking cable 31 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) extending from the interior doorhandle 30 along the plastic mounting panel P passes through a holeformed as cable guide means in rear part of the plastic mounting panel Pso as to extend to the door latch unit 33 passing through the cableguide hole 83 of the plastic mounting panel P. The cable guide hole 83of the plastic mounting panel P is covered by the door latch unit cover70. Because most of the handle linking cable 31 lays on the inner sideof the plastic mounting panel P and because the handle linking cable 31is linked with the door latch unit 33 within the door latch unit cover70, the handle linking cable 31 is prevented from an access with anintention to run away with the vehicle. In other words, the handlelinking cable 31 linking the door latch unit 33 extends from near theaperture 3 of the inner door panel D1 crossing the plastic mountingpanel P through the cable guide hole 83 such that the handle linkingcable 31 partly lies on the plastic mounting panel P on the side of theouter door panel D2 and covered by the door latch unit cover 70 togetherwith the door latch unit 33 and partly lies on the plastic mountingplate P on the side of the passenger compartment.

Although the door latch unit cover 70 is prepared separately from theplastic mounting plate P and secured to the plastic mounting panel P inthe above embodiment shown in FIG. 13, it may be formed as a partintegral with the plastic mounting plate P as one piece as shown in FIG.14. A generally L-shaped reinforcement 90 is welded, or otherwisesecured, to the inner door panel D1 at a location where the door latchunit 33 is mounted through a fixed bolt at the rear end of the innerdoor panel D1 in order to provide reliable fixing stiffness of the doorlatch unit 33 to the inner door panel D1.

Referring to FIG. 15 showing the L-shaped reinforcement 90 in detail,the L-shaped reinforcement 90, which is made of a steel plate, is formedwith a generally rectangular center opening 91 through which the bodystriker passes across when locking the vehicle door and four bolt holes92 around the rectangular opening 91 through which bolts are insertedand fastened to the inner door panel D1 in order to fix the door latchunit 33 to the inner door panel D1. The L-shaped reinforcement 90 at itslower end is additionally formed with a bottom rack 93 bent on the sideof the door latch unit 33. While the door latch unit 33 itself iscomparatively heavy, it is previously supported on the bottom rack 93 ofthe L-shaped reinforcement 90, so that the work of installing theplastic mounting panel P to the door panel sub-assembly D is made easy,as a result of which, a man-hour in assembling the front door isconsiderably reduced.

As shown in FIG. 16, in order to install the plastic mounting panel P tothe inner door panel D1, after installing the door latch unit 33, thehandle linking cable 31 and the door latch unit cover 70 to the plasticmounting panel P beforehand, the plastic mounting panel P is attachedand fixed to the inner door panel P so as to close the aperture 3 of theinner door panel D1. At this time, the door latch unit 33 is previouslysupported on the bottom rack 93 of the L-shaped reinforcement 90. Thisprovides improvement of workability in installing the plastic mountingpanel P to the door panel sub-assembly D.

FIG. 17 shows the window glass guide rail 18 of the plastic mountingpanel P in cross-section. While a window glass guide rail isconventionally provided separately from the inner door panel D1,however, in the vehicle door of the present invention, the window glassguide rail 18 is configured as a part integral with the plastic mountingpanel P. This integrated configuration allows the window glass guiderail 18 to be easily completed by simply fitting a packing strip 18P ina groove 18 a of the guide rail 18.

FIG. 18 shows the front speaker 32 attached to the speaker mount 14 ofthe plastic mounting panel P in cross-section. The speaker mount 14projects toward the passenger compartment. The front speaker 32 isfitted in an opening reinforced by a ring 100 of the speaker mount 14and is firmly secured by, for example, fixing bolts (not shown) to thespeaker mount 14. The speaker 32 at its back is provided with a coupler102 to which a lead wire 101 extending the harness H is connected so asto receive audio signals. The plastic mounting panel P is formed with asplash guard 103 extending behind and above the front speaker 32 so asto prevent electric parts associated with the front speaker 32 from, forexample, raindrops.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show anchor structures of the plastic mounting panel Pfor anchoring the harness H and the handle linking cable 31. As shown inFIG. 19, the plastic mounting panel P is formed with a harness anchor110 as a part integral therewith for anchoring the harness H. Theharness anchor 110 comprises a pair of L-shaped anchor lugs 110 a and110 b arranged oppositely in vertical direction. In order to anchor theharness H, the harness H is positioned substantially vertically and putbetween the L-shaped anchor lugs 110 a and 111 b as shown by adouble-dotted line in FIG. 19. Then, the harness H at opposite parts isbent in opposite directions as shown by arrows so as to bring theopposite parts into engagement with the L-shaped anchor lugs 110 a and110 b, respectively. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 20, the plasticmounting panel P is formed with a cable anchor 111 as a part integraltherewith for anchoring the handle linking cable 31. The cable anchor111 comprises a generally J-shaped anchor lug 11 a. In order to anchorthe handle linking cable 31, the handle linking cable 31 is insertedbetween the plastic mounting panel P and the J-shaped anchor lug 111 afrom above and seat it on the bottom of the J-shaped anchor lug 111 a.The anchor structure comprising the harness anchor 110 and the cableanchor 111 (see FIGS. 19 and 20) formed as parts integral with theplastic mounting panel P eliminates any necessity to use anchor clipswhich have been conventionally prepared separately from the plasticmounting panel P. Therefore, this anchor structure makes wiring workquite simple and easy.

FIGS. 21 and 22 show the access opening covers 22 and 23 before beingseparated from the plastic mounting panel P, respectively. As waspreviously described, the plastic mounting panel P is prepared as onepiece having the access opening covers 22 and 23. The plastic plate P isinstalled to the door panel sub-assembly D with the access openingcovers 22 and 23 left joined to the plastic mounting panel P. Afterhaving attached the plastic mounting panel P to the door panelsub-assembly D, the access opening cover 22 is separated from theplastic mounting panel P by breaking away the joints 22 a and attachedto the plastic mounting panel P in position to cover up the accessopening 13 which provides an access to the exterior door handle 7 forconnecting the handle linking cable 31 to the interior door handle 7.Similarly, after attaching the plastic panel to the door panelsub-assembly D, the access opening cover 23 is separated from theplastic mounting panel P by breaking away the joints 23 a and attachedto the plastic mounting panel P in position to cover up the accessopening 12 which provides an access to the inside of the door panelsub-assembly D for installing the window glass W to the window regulatorR. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 21, the access opening cover 22 isformed as an appendant part joined to the plastic mounting panel P bybreakable joints 20. The access cover 22 has an impact absorbing latticestructure comprising a plurality of ribs 22 a extending in oppositedirections and arranged in a lattice pattern. The access opening cover22 is formed with a hook 22 b extending toward the inner door panel D1in conformity with the access opening 13 so as to surround the shockabsorbing lattice structure. A rubber packing ring 22 c is seated in anannular recess formed around the shock absorbing lattice structurebefore or after having separated the access opening cover 22 from theplastic mounting panel P and before attaching it to the plastic mountingpanel P to cover up the access opening 13. As shown in FIG. 22, theaccess opening cover 23 is formed as an appendant part joined to theplastic mounting panel P by breakable joints 21. The access cover 23 isformed with a hook 23 b extending toward the inner door panel D1 inconformity with the access opening 12. A rubber packing ring 23 c isseated in an annular recess formed around the hook 23 b before or afterhaving separated the access opening cover 23 from the plastic mountingpanel P and before attaching it to the plastic mounting panel P to coverup the access opening 12.

FIGS. 23 and 24 show the access covers 22 and 23 are attached inposition to cover up the access openings 13 and 12, respectively. Asshown in FIG. 23, the access opening cover 22 is forced toward theplastic mounting panel P so as to bend and fit the hook 22 b into theaccess opening 13 from the side of the passenger compartment asindicated by arrows A. When the hook 22 a passes across the periphery 13a of the access opening 13, the hook 22 a bends back and engages withthe periphery 13 a of the access opening 13. In this manner, the accessopening cover 22 is easily attached in position to the plastic mountingpanel P and is prevented from coming off from the access opening 13.Similarly, as shown in FIG. 24, the access opening cover 23 is forcedtoward the plastic mounting panel P so as to bend and fit the hook 23 binto the access opening 12 from the side of the passenger compartment asindicated by arrows A. When the hook 23 a passes across the periphery 12a of the access opening 12, the hook 23 a bends back and engages withthe periphery 1 a of the access opening 12, so that the access openingcover 23 is easily attached in position to the plastic mounting panel Pand is prevented from coming off from the access opening 12.

As fully described in detail above in connection with the preferredembodiment, the vehicle door having a plastic mounting panel P to whichfunctional devices and associated parts are mounted and which isinstalled to an inner door panel D1 so as to close up an aperture 3 ofthe inner door panel P comprises the door latch unit 33 as a doorlock/unlock mechanism mounted to the inner door panel on the far sidefrom the passenger compartment and the handle linking cable 31 as alinking member connected to the door latch unit 33 which passes througha cable guide hole 83 from near the aperture 3 of the inner door paneland extends along the plastic mounting panel partly on the far side fromthe passenger compartment and partly on the near side to the passengercompartment. According to the vehicle door thus comprised, the handlelinking cable 31 is arranged outside the internal space between theinner door panel D1 and the outer door handle D2, so as to reliablyprevent the door latch unit 33 and the handle linking cable 31 from anaccess from the outside of the vehicle with a foul intention to run awaywith the vehicle.

The vehicle door is provided with the door latch unit cover 70 whichcovers the door latch unit 33 and a part of the handle linking cable 31extending along the plastic mounting panel on the far side from thepassenger compartment, so as to reliably prevent the door latch unit 33and the handle linking cable 31 from an access from the outside of thevehicle with a foul intention to run away with the vehicle. The doorlatch unit cover 70 is fixedly secured in position to the plasticmounting panel P in advance of mounting the door latch unit 33 and thehandle linking member to the plastic mounting panel P. Otherwise, thedoor latch unit cover 70 is formed in position as a part integral withthe plastic mounting panel. This integral structure enables to installthe plastic mounting panel P with the door latch unit 33 and the handlelinking cable 31 mounted thereto and the door latch unit cover 70 to theinner door panel D1 all at once. This provides an effect of simplifyingassembling work of the vehicle door work and is of great advantage todecreasing the number of door parts to be assembled.

The vehicle door is assembled by the process of mounting the latch unit33 as a door lock/unlock member, the handle linking cable 31 as alinking member and the door latch unit cover 70 as a cover member to theplastic mounting panel P as a sub-assembly in advance such that thehandle linking cable 31 passes through the cable guide hole 83 formed inthe plastic mounting panel P from near the aperture 3 of the inner doorpanel P and extends along the plastic mounting panel P partly on the farside from the passenger compartment and partly on the near side to thepassenger compartment.

The process of assembling the vehicle door improves suitability of thevehicle door for assembling work.

It is to be understood that although the present invention has beendescribed with regard to a preferred embodiment thereof, various otherembodiments and variants may occur to those skilled in the art, whichare within the scope and spirit of the invention, and such otherembodiments and variants are intended to be covered by the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle door for a vehicle, the vehicle doorcomprising an outer door panel, an inner door panel, and a plasticmounting panel, the inner door panel having a main wall portionextending in a lengthwise direction of the vehicle and a rear wallportion bent and extending toward the outer door panel from a rear endof the main wall portion, the inner door panel being formed with anaperture in the main wall portion, the plastic mounting panel beinginstalled to the inner door panel to cover up the aperture of the innerdoor panel and having inner and outer surfaces, wherein functionaldevices of the vehicle door are mounted on the outer surface of theplastic mounting panel adjacent to the outer door panel, the functionaldevices including at least a door lock and unlock mechanism having atleast three sides and a bottom surface, wherein a first one of the threesides of the door lock and unlock mechanism is secured to the rear wallportion of the inner door panel and a second one of the three sides ofthe door lock and unlock mechanism is mourned to the outer surface ofthe plastic mounting panel, the door lock and unlock mechanism beingoperative to lock and unlock the vehicle door, the vehicle door furthercomprising: a sealing member disposed between the plastic mounting paneland the inner door panel so as to seal off the aperture of the innerdoor panel; an inner door handle installed on the inner surface of theplastic mounting panel remote from the outer door panel and positionedahead of the door lock and unlock mechanism in the lengthwise directionof the vehicle; an inner door handle linking member operationallyconnecting the inner door handle to the door lock and unlock mechanism,the inner door handle linking member extending from the inner doorhandle along the inner surface of the plastic mounting panel, passingthrough a guide hole formed in the plastic mounting panel at a positionthat is remote from the rear end of the main wall portion and close tothe door lock and unlock mechanism, and then further extending to thedoor lock and unlock mechanism along the outer surface of the plasticmounting panel; and a cover member attached to the plastic mountingpanel so as to cover the third and remaining sides of the door lock andunlock mechanism and to cover the guide hole and part of the inner doorhandle linking member which extends from the guide hole formed in theplastic mounting panel to the door lock and unlock mechanism along theouter surface of the plastic mounting panel in order to preventunauthorized access from outside of the vehicle to the door lock andunlock mechanism and to the inner door handle linking member; whereinsaid plastic mounting panel has as an integral part thereof a mountingextension extending between the inner door panel and the cover memberand positioned behind the guide hole in the lengthwise direction of thevehicle, and the second one of the three sides of the door lock andunlock mechanism is pre-mounted to the mounting extension.
 2. A vehicledoor as defined in claim 1, wherein the cover member is fixedly securedto the plastic mounting panel.
 3. A vehicle door as defined in claim 1,wherein the cover member is formed as a part integral with the plasticmounting panel.
 4. A vehicle door as defined in claim 1, and furthercomprising an anchor member operative to anchor the inner door handlelinking member, the anchor member being formed as a part integral withthe plastic mounting panel on the inner surface of the plastic mountingpanel.
 5. A vehicle door as defined in claim 1, and further comprising abracket member operative to hold the inner door handle, the bracketmember being formed as a part integral with the plastic mounting panelon inner surface of the plastic mounting panel.
 6. A vehicle door asdefined in claim 1, and further comprising an outer door handleinstalled to the outer door panel, a key cylinder installed to the outerdoor panel, an outer door handle linking member operationally connectingthe outer door handle to the door lock and unlock mechanism, and a doorkey linking member operationally connecting the key cylinder to the doorlock and unlock mechanism; wherein the cover member is configured so asto cover a part of the outer door handle linking member and a part ofthe door key linking member.
 7. A vehicle door for a vehicle, thevehicle door comprising an outer door panel, an inner door panel, and aplastic mounting panel, the inner door panel having a main wall portionextending in a lengthwise direction of the vehicle and a rear wallportion bent and extending toward the outer door panel from a rear endof the main wall portion, the inner door panel being formed with anaperture in the main wall portion, the plastic mounting panel beinginstalled to the inner door panel to cover up the aperture of the innerdoor panel and having inner and outer surfaces, wherein functionaldevices of the vehicle door are mounted on the outer surface of theplastic mounting panel adjacent to the outer door panel, the functionaldevices including at least a door lock and unlock mechanism having atleast three sides and a bottom surface, wherein a first one of the threesides of the door lock and unlock mechanism is secured to the rear wallportion of the inner door panel and a second one of the three sides ofthe door lock and unlock mechanism is mounted to the outer surface ofthe plastic mounting panel, the door lock and unlock mechanism beingoperative to lock and unlock the vehicle door, the vehicle door furthercomprising: a sealing member disposed between the plastic mounting paneland the inner door panel so as to seal off the aperture of the innerdoor panel; an inner door handle installed on the inner surface of theplastic mounting panel remote from the outer door panel and positionedahead of the door lock and unlock mechanism in the lengthwise directionof the vehicle; an inner door handle linking member operationallyconnecting the inner door handle to the door lock and unlock mechanism,the inner door handle linking member extending from the inner doorhandle along the inner surface of the plastic mounting panel, passingthrough a guide hole formed in the plastic mounting panel at a positionthat is remote from a the rear end of the main wall portion and close tothe door lock and unlock mechanism, and then further extending to thedoor lock and unlock mechanism along the outer surface of the plasticmounting panel; and a cover member attached to the plastic mountingpanel so as to cover the third and remaining sides of the door lock andunlock mechanism and to cover the guide hole and part of the inner doorhandle linking member which extends from the guide hole formed in theplastic mounting panel to the door lock and unlock mechanism along theouter surface of the plastic mounting panel in order to preventunauthorized access from outside of the vehicle to the door lock andunlock mechanism and to the inner door handle linking member.
 8. Avehicle door as defined in claim 7, and further comprising an outer doorhandle installed to the outer door panel, a key cylinder installed tothe outer door panel, an outer door handle linking member operationallyconnecting the outer door handle to the door lock and unlock mechanism,and a door key linking member operationally connecting the key cylinderto the door lock and unlock mechanism; wherein the cover member isconfigured so as to cover a part of the outer door handle linking memberand a part of the door key linking member.